This disclosure relates to an air-driven particle pulverizer for a gas turbine engine cooling fluid system.
A gas turbine engine typically includes a fan section, a compressor section, a combustor section and a turbine section. Air entering the compressor section is compressed and delivered into the combustor section where it is mixed with fuel and ignited to generate a high-speed exhaust gas flow. The high-speed exhaust gas flow expands through the turbine section to drive the compressor and the fan section. The compressor section typically includes low and high pressure compressors, and the turbine section includes low and high pressure turbines.
In a typical gas turbine engine, cooling fluid is provided from the compressor section to other regions of the engine. Typically, dirt particles are driven toward the outer diameter of the core flow path in the compressor section. These dirt particles may undesirably be provided to engine components, such as a high pressure turbine blade outer air seals. Cooling holes within the blade outer air seal may become plugged with dirt particles. To prevent plugging of the cooling holes, the holes may be enlarged from their desired design hole size. As a result, the holes may be larger than desired for cooling.
Honeycomb structures have been used to collect dirt in a fluid passageway, but these structures are not designed to break the dirt particles. Moreover, these structures have obstructed cooling flow.